elsewhere, parts of wisconsin, iowa, and michigan dug out from more than a foot of snow. the storm was blamed for at least nine deaths in half a dozen states. the day that some pegged as the "end of the world" came and went without incident. the focus on december 21, 2012, was said to be based o projections in an ancient mayan calendar. in mexico, tourists and new age spiritualists gathered to greet the day at mayan archaeological sites. and thousands converged on stonehenge in england for an "end of the world" party coinciding with the winter solstice. it may not be doomsday, but americans are feeling less hopeful about the future. the university of michigan's consumer confidence index fell this month to the lowest point since july. and wall street gave ground today on worries about the lack of a budget deal in washington. the dow jones industrial average lost almost 121 points to close ear 13,190. the nasdaq fell 29 points to close at 3,021. for the week, the dow gained about half a percent; the nasdaq rose 1.7%. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to j